La Tâche is one of two Grand Cru monopoles owned outright by Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, and many Burgundy drinkers rank it alongside Romanée-Conti itself. The 2016 comes from a year of spring frost and low yields across the Côte d'Or, yet La Tâche came through with a crop slightly larger than 2015.
About This Wine
The 2016 season in Burgundy opened badly, with a hard April frost followed by mildew pressure, before a hot, dry summer ripened what fruit remained. At DRC the frost hit the Flagey-Échézeaux vineyards and the Montrachet hardest, while La Tâche and Romanée-Conti held their yields. Early tastings found the young wine tight and reserved, with a dense core of cool fruit and firm, fine-grained tannin. This is a wine to lay down; most commentators suggest giving it well over a decade before opening.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Wild berries, dark cherry, rose petal, exotic spice and a hint of cedar.
- Palate: Full and velvety, with concentrated fruit, a tight mineral frame and dense but fine tannin.
- Finish: Resonant and long, with spice and floral notes returning at the close.
Serving & Food
Serve at 16 to 17°C in a large Burgundy bowl. If opening in the next few years, decant for two hours; ideally cellar until the mid-2030s and drink over the following decades. Pair with roast squab, duck breast with cherry jus, or a mushroom and truffle risotto.
How to Enjoy
Long-term cellaring and a landmark dinner once the wine has had time to open up.
Product Details
Producer: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
Appellation: La Tâche Grand Cru Monopole
Region: Vosne-Romanée, Côte de Nuits, Burgundy
Country: France
Vintage: 2016
Grape variety: Pinot Noir
Vineyard size: 6.06 hectares (monopole)
Volume: 750mL
About the Domaine
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is based in Vosne-Romanée and has been co-owned by the de Villaine and Leroy families since 1942. Its reds come from Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, Richebourg, Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Grands-Échézeaux, Échézeaux and, since 2009, Corton, with a small holding of Montrachet for its white.
La Tâche took its present shape in 1933, when Edmond Gaudin de Villaine bought the original La Tâche plot at the auction of the Liger-Belair estate and joined it to the domaine's neighbouring holdings in Les Gaudichots. The result is a 6.06 hectare monopole just south of Romanée-Conti, classified Grand Cru in 1936. The vines are old, the soils are brown limestone with plenty of clay, thin at the top of the slope and deeper below.